Thanxgiving VI Coming Up

It's that time of year again and we're gearing up for the 6th straight Annual Big Hill Post-Thanxgiving Overnight!

Some background for those of you who might not know... The First Annual was our 24th trip, but it was the first trip with extensive digital photography and the first trip to Big Hill. The trip marked an important change in the identity of the group because it was on this trip that the original idea of a formal group was conceived as a 'list of all of our trips' and within a month the first version of the website was up and running. Before this trip we made it out to Harriman only a few times a year, barely hiked, and had no particular organization to the group. Shortly after this trip we started camping and hiking many more times a year, started aggressively pursuing new shelters and scenic points, developed the ranks, constitution, and other stats, and so on. It was all because we finally began to chronicle our progress like a runner tracks his own personal bests.

The Second Annual was an under-attended attempt at a 2-nighter, after which the idea of an annual trip was almost abandoned. The last try was the Third Annual, which turned out to be our most attended trip ever with 14 people. Even CMIYC2 didn't have that many. The Fourth Annual had 8 campers and seemed very anti-climactic after year three, so for the Fifth Annual I had the idea of cooking a turkey at the site to add some excitement. It turned out so well that we'll be doing so again this year. We'll be working out contributions to the group menu over the next week or so.

I am hoping to see 10+ at this overnight. It's always been a good trip for first-timers and hopefully this year will generate a few rookies. There are a good handful of Harrimaniacs who stand to advance a level in the ranks on this trip as well, not to mention there will be plenty of opportunities for HW Assignments to be completed. This trip always has the possibility of being the highlight of the year and I have a feeling this year will not disappoint.